Monitoring location of mining vehicle using base stations in at least two sections of mine

ABSTRACT

A method and a system for monitoring the location of a mining vehicle in a mine. The first mine section ( 18 ) is provided with a wireless network ( 10 ) for data transmission between the mining vehicle ( 1, 1   a,    1   b ) and the mine control system ( 11 ). In addition, the network is used for positioning. In the second mine section ( 21 ), the location is determined by means of measuring devices provided in the mining vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method of monitoring the location of a miningvehicle in a mine, the method comprising: determining data on thelocation of at least one mining vehicle in the mine; transmitting thelocation data to a mine control system; and employing the obtainedlocation data in the mine control system for monitoring the operation ofthe mining vehicle.

The invention further relates to a system of monitoring the location ofa mining vehicle in a mine, the system comprising: means for determiningthe location of a mining vehicle, a mine control system, at least onecontrol unit arranged in the mining vehicle, at least one wirelessnetwork for data transmission between the control unit of the miningvehicle and the mine control system, and at least one base station forcreating the wireless network.

Different mining vehicles are used in a mine, such as rock drillingrigs, loading vehicles and transport vehicles. The mining vehicles maybe manned or unmanned. For monitoring the location of a mining vehicle,it is known to provide predetermined places in a mine with readingdevices, which register the mining vehicle and give information on thelocation of the mining vehicle to the mine control system. However, thebuilding of such fixed infrastructure in a mine is expensive anddifficult. Furthermore, reading devices may be damaged in severe miningconditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The object of the invention is to provide a new and improved method andsystem for monitoring the location of a mining vehicle in a mine.

The method according to the invention is characterized by forming atleast one first section and at least one second section in the mine;creating at least one wireless network for the first mine section, whichcommunicates with the mine control system and includes at least one basestation for establishing a data communication connection between themining vehicle and the wireless network, the mining vehicle being in thecoverage area of at least one base station in the first mine section;arranging at least one base station in the second mine section forestablishing a data communication connection between the mining vehicleand the wireless network; determining the location of the mining vehiclein the first mine section by means of positioning performed in thewireless network; and determining the location of the mining vehicle inthe second mine section by at least one measuring device provided in themining vehicle, and transmitting the location data to the mine controlsystem over the wireless network.

The system according to the invention is characterized in that the minecomprises at least one first section provided with at least one wirelessnetwork, the mining vehicle being in the coverage area of at least onebase station in the first mine section; the mine comprises at least onesecond section provided with at least one base station for establishinga data communication connection between the control unit of the miningvehicle and the mine control system; the location of the mining vehiclein the first mine portion is arranged to be determined using positioningperformed in the wireless network; the location of the mining vehicle inthe second mine section is arranged to be determined by at least onemeasuring device provided in the mining vehicle, and location data arearranged to be transmitted in the second mine section over the wirelessnetwork from the mining vehicle to the mine control system.

The idea underlying the invention is that at least one section of a mineis provided with a wireless network. The wireless network is used indata transmission between a terminal in a mining vehicle and a minecontrol system, and further in determining the location of the miningvehicle. At least when the mining vehicle is within the coverage area ofone or more base stations in the wireless network, the location of themining vehicle can be determined with sufficient accuracy formonitoring. Not all sections of a mine are provided with a comprehensivewireless network suitable for determining location, but a section of themine is provided only with a network for maintaining a datacommunication connection between the mine control system and the miningvehicle. In the sections outside the comprehensive network, meansprovided in the mining vehicle are used for determining its location.The location data obtained by the means are transmitted to the minecontrol system over the data communication connection. The mine controlsystem may employ the location data it has received for monitoringmining vehicles and controlling their operation.

An advantage of the invention is that the mine control system maymonitor the mining vehicle so that the control system is substantiallycontinuously aware at least of the approximate location of the miningvehicle. Since the location of mining vehicles operating in the mine canbe monitored, the tasks performed in the mine can be controlled moreeffectively and the realization of mine-related plans monitored. Afurther advantage is that the system according to the invention reducesthe need for building a fixed infrastructure in the mine. A wirelessnetwork can be created in the mine sections where the conditions forplacing base stations are good and the amount of vehicular traffic islarge. Such places include unloading stations, connecting tunnels andother main passages. Instead, the mine sections with the severestconditions are not provided with a comprehensive wireless network butequipped with bases stations only for establishing a data communicationconnection. Thus in production tunnels and the like, the location of amining vehicle can be monitored by location determination based on deadreckoning, i.e. distance and direction, for example. In other words, theinvention utilizes two different arrangements for determining thelocation of a mining vehicle in a flexible manner. Furthermore, sincethe object of the invention is to monitor the location and movements ofa mining vehicle in a mine, the location determination does not need tobe as accurate as in the controlling of a mining vehicle in a mine, forexample.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the miningvehicle includes means for ‘dead reckoning’. The means include at leastmeans for measuring the distance traveled and determining the vehicle'sdirection. The measurement means required by the dead reckoning arerelatively simple, reliable and sufficiently accurate.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the wirelessnetwork is a radio network.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the wirelessnetwork is a wireless local area network, for example WLAN (WirelessLocal Area Network). Other local area network techniques are alsoapplicable.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the radionetwork is a mobile communication network.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the miningvehicle is a manned vehicle controlled by an operator. The mine controlsystem or mine supervisory personnel may be assigned to give workinginstructions to the operator on the basis of monitoring.

The idea underlying an embodiment of the invention is that the locationof the mining vehicle is determined continuously by at least onemeasuring device provided in the mining vehicle. In the first minesection, the location of the mining vehicle is updated to correspond tothe location determined by means of the wireless network, in which caseany measurement error that has occurred in the second mine section canbe eliminated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The invention will be described in greater detail in the accompanyingdrawings, in which

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view of a mining vehicle,

FIG. 2 is a schematic top view of a solution for determining thelocation of a mining vehicle in a wireless network,

FIG. 3 is a schematic top view of another solution for determining thelocation of a mining vehicle in a wireless network, and

FIG. 4 is a schematic top view of a mine section provided with amonitoring system according to the invention.

The figures show the invention in a simplified manner for the sake ofclarity. In the figures, like reference numbers identify like elements.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 shows a mining vehicle 1, in this case a loading vehicle, whosefront end comprises a bucket for transporting and loading minedmaterial. Alternatively, the mining vehicle 1 may be a rock drilling rigor a transport vehicle provided with a platform, for example. The miningvehicle 1 comprises a movable chassis 2 having a plurality of wheels 3,of which at least one is a traction wheel driven by an engine 4 throughpower transmission 5. The power transmission 5 typically includes a gearbox 6 and necessary cardan shafts 7, differentials and other powertransmission means for transferring the rotation torque from the engine4 to the traction wheels. Furthermore, the mining vehicle 1 is providedwith a control system comprising at least a first control unit 8arranged to control the actuators in the mining vehicle 1 for steeringand using the vehicle. The mining vehicle 1 may further comprise a datatransmission unit 9 or a terminal, by means of which the first controlunit 8 may establish a data transfer connection 9a to a wireless network10 in the mine and further use the wireless network 10 to communicatewith a second control unit 12 included in the mine control system 11.When several mining vehicles are operating simultaneously in a mine 17,the network 10 may be arranged to identify an identifier or codetransmitted by the mining vehicle 1, enabling the identification of eachmining vehicle 1 operating in the mine 17 at all times. The wirelessnetwork 10 comprises a plurality of base stations 13, which maycommunicate with each other and with units outside the network. Theconnection between the wireless network 10 and the mine control system11 may be wireless or wired. The mine control system 11 and the secondcontrol unit 12 included in it may be located in a control cabin 14,which may be arranged outside the mine. The control units 8 and 12 maybe computers or the like.

The mining vehicle 1 may be manned, in which case it comprises a controlcabin 15 for an operator 16. The operator 16 is responsible for steeringthe manned mining vehicle 1, and thus no exact position is necessarilyrequired for steering such a mining vehicle 1. On the other hand, themining vehicle 1 may also be unmanned. An unmanned mining vehicle may becontrolled by remote control from a separate control cabin based on avideo image, for example, or it may be an independently controlledmining vehicle provided with a navigation system.

The mining vehicle 1 may comprise means for determining its location.The location of the mining vehicle 1 can be determined when the distancetraveled and the direction of the vehicle are known. The direction ofthe mining vehicle can be found out by means of a gyroscope or the like,for instance. The distance traveled can be calculated in the controlunit 8 of the vehicle after suitable sensors 30 have first measuredrotational data directly from a wheel 3 of the vehicle 1, oralternatively indirectly from the power transmission 5 or the engine 4.The rotational motion of the wheel 3 can be calculated in the controlsystem, provided that the transmission ratios are known. Furthermore,the control unit 8 is able to calculate the magnitude of the distancetraveled by the vehicle 1 on the basis of the rotational motion anddiameter of the wheel 3. The location data can be transmitted using thewireless network 10 to the second control unit 12 belonging to the minecontrol system 11. Employing the location data, the mine control system11 may monitor the movement of the mining vehicle 1 in the mineaccording to the inventive idea. The mine control system 11 may beprovided with a user interface for manual monitoring of the operation ofmining vehicles 1 in the mine 17.

Furthermore, the mine control system 11 may keep a register of themovements of mining vehicles 1 in the mine, and further provide variousreports and messages on monitoring results. In addition, the controlsystem 11 may be arranged to give new work instructions to the operatorof the mining vehicle on the basis of monitoring.

When determined by the measuring devices provided in the mining vehicle1, the location may be erroneous. For example, skidding of wheels andirregularities on the driving surface may cause errors, which can becorrected by location determination based on the wireless network 10.

In addition to the above-mentioned devices, the mining vehicle 1 maycomprise other devices for determining the location. Examples of suchdevices are various laser scanners 19, ultrasonic devices and the like.

FIG. 2 illustrates a way of determining the location of the miningvehicle 1 in the wireless network 10. The mine is provided with a firstmine section 18, including at least one wireless network 10. Thewireless network may comprise a plurality of base stations 13 a to 13 c.When the mining vehicle 1 moves in the coverage area of the wirelessnetwork 10, a data transmission unit 9 provided in the mining vehicle 1may establish a connection to one base station 13 a to 13 c at a time onthe basis of predetermined criteria. The connection may be establishedto the base station closest to the mining vehicle 1 at a given time, inthis case to base station 13 a whose signal level is the highest. Inthat case, the coverage between the base station 13 a and the datatransmission unit 9 of the mining vehicle 1 is good. When the miningvehicle 1 moves forward in the mine 17 to the coverage area of the nextbase station 13 b, the data transmission connection can be switched tobase station 13 b. This selection of base stations 13 a to 13 in thenetwork 10 is part of conventional telecommunications technology.Connecting to the base station 13 a to 13 c can also be used indetermining the location of the mining vehicle 1. In that case, thesimplest way is to select the location of the base station 13 a to 13 cwith which the mining vehicle 1 communicates at a given time as theapproximate location of the mining vehicle 1. The locations of all basestations 13 are known to the control system, enabling monitoring themovements of the mining vehicle 1 in the mine with sufficient accuracy.An advantage of the location determination based on the selection ofbase stations 13 is that it is simple to implement and sufficientlyaccurate for monitoring. If necessary, a simple way of improving theaccuracy of location determination performed in the network 10 is toincrease the number of base stations 13, i.e. to improve the networkdensity. Furthermore, base stations 13 may be placed in the mine 17 inlocations critical to monitoring. Such locations may be unloading andloading sites, for example.

FIG. 3 illustrates another solution for determining the location in thewireless network 10. The location of the mining vehicle 1 can bedetermined by calculating its location in the coverage area of two ormore base stations on the basis of the level of the signals transmittedby the base stations 13. This allows determination of relativelyaccurate coordinates for the mining vehicle 1.

For example, the technique described in WO 02/054813 for determining thelocation in a wireless network can be applied in the invention.

The system according to the invention can further utilize any wirelessnetwork 10 based on base stations and suitable both for transmittingdata and for determining the location. Such networks include a radionetwork, for example a mobile communication network. Examples of mobilecommunications networks are GSM (Global System for MobileCommunication), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) and UMTS (UniversalMobile Telecommunications System) networks. The wireless network mayalso be a WLAN network (Wireless Local Area Network). If necessary,other wireless local area network techniques described in IEEE 802.11standard may also be applied. Other examples of wireless local areanetworks include HiperLAN network (High Performance Radio Local AreaNetwork) and BRAN network (Broadband Radio Access Network).

FIG. 4 illustrates part of an underground mine 17. The mine 17 may alsobe an opencast mine or the like. The mine 17 may comprise one or moreconnecting tunnels 20 and one or more production tunnels 21. Actual rockbreaking, for example by blasting or mining, takes place in theproduction tunnel 21. The rock material broken from the rock can betransported with a transporting vehicle la from the production tunnel 21to the connection tunnel 20 and further to the unloading site 22, suchas a transporting shaft or a suitable conveyor. Several productiontunnels 21 may be connected to the connecting tunnel 20, and on theother hand, the connecting tunnel 20 may be provided with severalunloading sites 22, as shown in FIG. 4. The production tunnels 21 may bevery long, up to several hundreds of meters long. In addition, theconditions in the production tunnels are severe because of drilling andblasting, for example, for which reason it is difficult to build acomplete wireless network in the production tunnels 21. The front end ofeach production tunnel 21 can be, however, provided with a base station13 d, by means of which the transporting vehicle 1 a operating in theproduction tunnel 21, the rock drilling rig 1 b or any other miningvehicle can establish a data communication connection 9 a to the minecontrol system 11. The production tunnel 21 may include one or morecritical locations 23 where the mining vehicle 1 a, 1 b should operate.Such critical locations 23 may include predetermined drilling sites,loading sites, etc. The operation of mining vehicles 1 a, 1 b in suchcritical locations 23 is monitored by the mine control system 11. Theproduction tunnel 21 where each mining vehicle 1 a, 1 b operates at agiven time is known on the basis of the data communication connection 9a. More accurate information cannot be obtained on the location of themining vehicles 1 a, 1 b in the production tunnel 21 by means of thewireless network 10 since the wireless network 10 built in theproduction tunnels 21 is not sufficiently comprehensive for use inlocation determination. Thus the wireless network 10 is used in theproduction tunnels 21 mainly for data transmission between the terminal9 in the mining vehicle 1 and the mine control system 11. When themining vehicle 1 is in the production tunnel 21, a more accuratelocation can be determined by the means provided in the mining vehicle1. The location can be determined by measuring the distance M traveledand determining the direction S of travel. The location thus obtained issufficiently accurate at least for finding out whether the miningvehicle 1 has operated in a pre-planned manner in the predeterminedcritical location 23.

In the mine according to FIG. 4, a wireless network 10 is formed for asection 18 of the connecting tunnel 20. Firstly, the network 10 can beused for data transmission between the mining vehicles 1 and the minecontrol system 11. Secondly, the network 10 can be used for determiningthe location of the mining vehicles 1 in its coverage area. The miningvehicles in the mine section 18 are thus continuously within thecoverage area of at least two base stations 13, enabling locationdetermination in the network 10 on the basis of signal level, forexample. Furthermore, one or more additional base stations 13 a can bearranged close to the critical sites, such as unloading sites 22, in themine section 18. Thus the location determination and monitoring may berelatively accurate on the loading sites 22. Visits to the coverage areaof the additional base station 13 e can be registered.

It is also feasible that the means provided in the mining vehicle 1determine location data continuously, i.e. also during operation in themine section 18, and transmit them to the mine control system 11. Eachtime the mining vehicle arrives from the production tunnel 21 at themine section 18, the location can be checked by the network 10. In thatcase, dead reckoning-based location determination can be corrected if itincludes errors. In this solution, the determination of the miningvehicle 1 location is thus always performed on the basis of the locationdetermination provided in the mining vehicle 1, and the network 10 isonly used for improving accuracy.

The drawings and the related description are only intended to illustratethe inventive concept. The details of the invention may vary within thescope of the claims.

1. A method of monitoring the location of a mining vehicle in a mine,the method comprising: determining data on the location of at least onemining vehicle in the mine by at least one measuring device provided inthe mining vehicle; transmitting the location data to a mine controlsystem; employing the obtained location data in the mine control systemfor monitoring the operation of the mining vehicle; providing at leastone first section and at least one second section in the mine; providingat least one wireless data communication network for the first minesection which communicates with the mine control system and includes atleast one signal transmitting base station for establishing a datacommunication connection between the mining vehicle and the wirelessdata communication network, the mining vehicle being in the coveragearea of at least one base station in the first mine section; arrangingat least one base station in the second mine section solely forestablishing a data communication connection between the mining vehicleand the wireless data communication network in the first mine section,wherein the at least one base station in the second mine section doesnot determine the location of the mining vehicle; continuouslydetermining the location of the mining vehicle as the mining vehiclemoves in the first mine section by means of positioning performed in thewireless data communication network on the basis of the location of theat least one signal transmitting base station in the first mine section;and determining the location of the mining vehicle in the second minesection only by the at least one measuring device provided in the miningvehicle and transmitting the location data to the mine control systemover the wireless data communication network of the first mine section.2. A method according to claim 1, comprising: determining the locationof the mining vehicle in the second mine section by calculating thedistance traveled and determining the direction of travel.
 3. A methodaccording to claim 1, comprising: monitoring the location of a mannedmining vehicle in the mine, and transmitting instructions to theoperator of the mining vehicle on the basis of the monitoring carriedout.
 4. A method according to claim 1, comprising: forming the firstmine section in a connecting tunnel, and forming the second mine sectionin a production tunnel.
 5. A method according to claim 1, comprising:determining the location of the mining vehicle continuously by at leastone measuring device provided in the mining vehicle, comparing thelocation determined by the measuring device with the location determinedby the wireless network when in the first mine section, and updating thelocation of the mining vehicle to correspond to the location determinedby the wireless network.
 6. A method according to claim 1, comprising:placing additional base stations belonging to the wireless network inpredetermined critical locations in the mine, and registering the visitsof the mining vehicle to the coverage area of the additional basestations in the mine control system.
 7. A method according to claim 1,comprising: providing the wireless network in the first mine sectionwith a plurality of base stations; establishing a connection to one basestation at time when the mine vehicle is moved in the first minesection; creating communication between the mine vehicle and the basestation whose signal level is the highest in the wireless network; andselecting the location of the base station with which the mining vehiclecommunicates at a given time as the location of the mining vehicle.
 8. Amethod according to claim 1, comprising: providing the wireless networkin the first mine section with a plurality of base stations, which eachhave a coverage area of transmitted signals; and calculating theposition of the mine vehicle in the coverage area of at least two basestations on the basis of the level of signals transmitted by the basestations.
 9. A method according to claim 1, comprising: using themonitoring results for keeping a register of the movements of the minevehicle in the mine.
 10. A system for monitoring the location of amining vehicle in a mine, the system comprising: means for determiningthe location of the mining vehicle; a mine control system; at least onecontrol unit arranged in the mining vehicle; at least one measuringdevice arranged in the mining vehicle; at least one wireless network fordata transmission between the control unit of the mining vehicle and themine control system; at least one signal transmitting base station forcreating a wireless data communication network, and wherein, the minecomprises at least one first section provided with at least one wirelessdata communication network, the mining vehicle being in the coveragearea of signal transmitted from at least one base station in the firstmine section; the mine comprises at least one second section providedwith at least one base station solely for establishing a datacommunication connection between the control unit of the mining vehicleand the mine control system, wherein the at least one base station inthe second mine section does not determine the location of the miningvehicle; the location of the mining vehicle as the mining vehicle movesin the first mine section is arranged to be continuously determinedusing positioning performed in the wireless data communication networkon the basis of the location of the at least one signal transmittingbase station in the first mine section; the location of the miningvehicle in the second mine section is arranged to be determined only bythe at least one measuring device provided in the mining vehicle, andwherein location data are arranged to be transmitted in the second minesection over the wireless network of the first mine section from themining vehicle to the mine control system.
 11. A system according toclaim 10, wherein the wireless network is a radio telephone network. 12.A system according to claim 10, wherein the mining vehicle comprises atleast one measuring device for determining the distance traveled and atleast one measuring device for determining the direction of the miningvehicle.
 13. A system according to claim 10, wherein the first minesection is provided with at least one predetermined critical location,and at least one additional base station is arranged in the immediatevicinity of the critical location.
 14. A system according to claim 10,wherein the positioning to be performed in the wireless network isarranged to be carried out on the basis of the location of the basestation.